| | Courtesy of Eric Parrish | | A fraternity member gets ready to put the ball into action at the Beta Ball tournament on Saturday. |
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Two gyms in the Recreation and Physical Activity Center were filled Saturday with Ohio State students hurling playground balls at each other for a cause.
The cause was the American Cancer Society.
The event, Beta Theta Pi's second annual Beta Ball dodgeball tournament, was sponsored by local bars Ledo's Lounge, Miani's Bar and Grill and McFadden's Saloon. It raised more than $1,500 for charity in 2007 and the fraternity hoped to increase the amount in 2008.
Playing a unique sport made the goal attainable, members of the fraternity said.
"Dodgeball is different, it's original," said Eric Parrish, a junior in finance. "Each fraternity has something different that they like to do. Some play basketball, some play football - we play dodgeball."
Twenty teams participated in the event. Of the 20, eight were all-male teams and 12 were female. Nearly all of the male teams were made up of Beta Theta Pi members and recruited friends.
"We asked everyone in our fraternity to get involved and asked them to get a group of their friends together to play," Parrish said.
The organizer of the event, Beta Theta Pi vice-president Paul Saridakis, said the Beta Ball tournament was a good opportunity to raise awareness about different types of cancer affecting people, while also staying competitive and having a bit of fun.
Saridakis also said the event helped the members of the fraternity realize the impact cancer has on the lives of others.
"Cancer is a disease that affects everybody," said Saridakis, a senior in biology and chemistry. "Not only did we raise money, but we also passed out information booklets about different types of cancers which included ways to prevent it and methods for early detection."
Each team playing in the tournament paid a $50 registration fee. Then the teams were placed in male and female brackets and matched to play against one another. All the money gathered from registration fees and business donations will be given to the American Cancer Society.
Half-way through the event, Parrish said the turn-out was already greater than he expected and attributed its success to word-of-mouth marketing and increased organization.
Aside from raising money for a good cause, members of the fraternity said the event was a good way to bring the greek community on campus together.
"When we have an event like this, all the sororities and fraternities know to participate, not only to offer their support, but also because they know that the money generated is going to a good cause," said Nick Sexauer, a junior in finance.
Winning the girls division of the tournament was a team made up of members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
Altogether, Beta Theta Pi has more than 120,000 living members including 5,800 collegians on 122 campuses in the U.S. and Canada. In the past, the OSU chapter of the fraternity has also held poker and football tournaments to raise money for charity.
Uchechi Amadi can be reached at amadi-ihebuzor.1@osu.edu.
2008 Woodie Awards
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